The Christmas Lectures - 1977

[Channel Hopper]

With Carl Sagan

CHRISTMAS LECTURES 1977 - The Planets

There are others in the list including David Attenborough, but for some reason Heinz Wolff is missing (1975) as was those with George Porter (1969) that was for me one of the most interesting.

 

[Vipersan]

With Carl Sagan

CHRISTMAS LECTURES 1977 - The Planets

There are others in the list including David Attenborough, but for some reason Heinz Wolff is missing (1975) as was those with George Porter (1969) that was for me one of the most interesting.

George Porter rings a bell ..
was that the lecture series with the linear motor featured ?

 

[PaulR]

That would have been Eric Laithwaite surely?

Eric Laithwaite - Wikipedia

"Laithwaite was an able communicator who made many television appearances. Memorable among these were his Royal Institution Christmas Lectures to young people in 1966 and 1974."

 

[Vipersan]

That would have been Eric Laithwaite surely?

Eric Laithwaite - Wikipedia

"Laithwaite was an able communicator who made many television appearances. Memorable among these were his Royal Institution Christmas Lectures to young people in 1966 and 1974."

Thanks for the memory jog Paul ..
I'll have to take a look tonight at that link to see if the linear motor lectures are on there ..
I'd certainly like to see those again..

 

[Vipersan]

CHRISTMAS LECTURES 1974 - The Engineer Through the Looking Glass

 

[Llew]

Yes, enjoyed his entertaining lectures, particularly the one demonstrating the gyroscope. If I understand it, at the time, he believed its action went against Newton's Law Of Motion, but later conceded this was not the case.

 

[Channel Hopper]

I stand corrected, Wolff Is in there

CHRISTMAS LECTURES 1975: Signals from the interior

My evenings entertainment is sorted.

 

[Channel Hopper]

And tomorrows (even though it is from 1985)

Explore the Ri Archive

Like Doctor Who, everybody seems to have one or two favourite incarnations

 

[Lazarus]

I had the pleasure of seeing Wolffe and Laithwaite at Preston Guildhall at the end of the Summer of '76.

I was still an Apprentice and was on secondment with GEC Mobile Radio , installing some cabinets up in the North West and we were staying in Preston.

As I recall, the Lecture focussed on showing how everything in modern science can be found, in some form, in Nature.

 

[Channel Hopper]

I had the pleasure of seeing Wolffe and Laithwaite at Preston Guildhall at the end of the Summer of '76.

No wonder I couldn't find Heinz if he changed his name........

 

[Lazarus]

Well, you do know there are 57 varieties? ;)

 

[Channel Hopper]

I had the pleasure of seeing Wolffe and Laithwaite at Preston Guildhall at the end of the Summer of '76.

And purely coincidence, Laithwaite is on Yesterday channel, Impossible Engineering programme on Maglevs

 

[Lazarus]

And purely coincidence, Laithwaite is on Yesterday channel, Impossible Engineering programme on Maglevs

Interestingly, one of the reasons I chose Leeds University to study Electrical & Electronic Engineering was the presence of MagLev Research work, inspired by Laithwaite (Although his own work was, of course, centred on Imperial College)

But I changed tack when I actually went there and specialised in Comms instead.

 

[Vipersan]

check out impossible engineering tonight on Yesterday ch 19 freeview about 11:30PM

Impossible Engineering
Series 1, Episode 5: Maglev Train

repeated tomorrow ..


Series 1, Episode 5: Maglev Train
Thursday 9th, February
9:00am - 10:00am

 

[Channel Hopper]

check out impossible engineering tonight on Yesterday ch 19 freeview about 11:30PM

Impossible Engineering
Series 1, Episode 5: Maglev Train

repeated tomorrow ..


Series 1, Episode 5: Maglev Train
Thursday 9th, February
9:00am - 10:00am

Touche

The Christmas Lectures - 1977

 

[Vipersan]

Touche

The Christmas Lectures - 1977

Amazing coincidence..
Sorry CH ..should have checked ..but still ..
got my recorder set
;)

 

[Vipersan]

Eric would have been so proud ..even though the system wasn't perfected in the UK ..
Once again ..British innovation goes abroad...
Really enjoyed that episode of impossible engineering...

 

[Channel Hopper]

Unfortunately the 'brains' behind HS2 was never going down the Maglev route, their reasoning being incompatibility with existing technology ( well duh !) .
HS1 could not be - read - not have the funding for - upgrading, and there really has not been any viable proposal for a single backbone from the far north to the south and beyond.

Practical reasoning kills off the idea because of the faster speeds attainable over long - 150+ mile - distances means any stops in between, cancel out the journey time savings.

Effectively the country isn't long enough and there is little incentive for anyone to swop one hub system already in place - flying to Heathrow/London City, for another where there would be only one terminus in the highlands, which could really only be Edinburgh.

Ultraspeed did have a proposal, with some nice technical snubs on existing wheeled livery, the noise pollution reduction and the pylon/elevated sections eliminating much of the need for land reclamation and compensation, but it was a dead duck thanks to the whole point of commuting, that of turning a profit for the shareholders in a privatised world.

 

[Channel Hopper]

Alan James of Ultraspeed is now working with this bunch apparently.

French railways invest in 700mph inter-city super-tube which could make HS2 obsolete

Shades of Space 1999.......

 

[PaulR]

France has been down the monorail route (the Aérotrain) before in the 60s and 70s. Sadly it came to nothing but the structure can be seen from the N20 approaching Orléans from the north.

Aérotrain - Wikipedia

From just off the N20

Google Maps

At the end terminal close to Orléans

Google Maps